


What a Knock Out!

by opal_vortex



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst and Feels, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Romantic Comedy, Slow Burn, UFC, inuyasha is bad at feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26709946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opal_vortex/pseuds/opal_vortex
Summary: Inuyasha is the newest and hottest UFC fighter in Japan (and social media). When entrusted by his late father to run the TAISHO gym, Inuyasha is determined to prove that even half breeds can dominate the ring. Kagome is a broke college student a mere two years away from graduating. She needs a side gig and fast which leads Sango to rope her into being the newest ring girl for the TAISHO gym. Kagome finds herself in the middle of Inuyasha's complicated quest for fame.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Miroku/Sango (InuYasha)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! Thank you for reading What a Knockout! This is Lucy, the co writer and artist for the fic who will be posting and communicating with you all! Our main writer, Luis will pop in from time to time. We hope you stick around for this journey with us as we will try to update every two weeks with new art to accompany each chapter! You can get access to chapters early at my patreon that is currently in production. Following me will keep you up to date for when that is finished and ready to go (most likely this coming weekend).
> 
> Feel free to follow me or Luis at our socials for updates and art related things! 
> 
> Lucy - @opal_lines (Instagram&twitter)  
> Luis - @Koe319 (Instagram&twitter)

(All art done by co author Lucy (@opal_lines)

**. . .**

“You’ve got to keep your hands up Master Inuyasha!”

He’s standing in the middle of the ring throwing jabs, hooks and uppercuts. The silver haired fighter’s got his hair up in a bun held by a ribbon that belonged to his mother. His white sneakers squeak with each movement on the polished gym floor. He’s sporting his usual white and red shorts and worn out tank. Despite his trainer’s insistence, Inu’s hands are up. 

“Shut up Myoga,” He says defiantly. Myoga slaps his hand on the ring floor, “Hey! Is that any way to talk to your trainer? How do you think your dearly departed parents would feel if they saw their only son doing something as barbaric as UFC fighting?”

Inu turns and looks down at the old man. His golden eyes are confident as he says, “I’m going to do what I want, and what I want is to fight! Besides they’re dead, who cares what they think?”

His amber eyes soften a bit in unison with the growing scowl on his face. Even someone like Myoga has always tried to get in the middle of his goals. If it wasn’t because of his half breed status, it was because of his old man and mother. He wasn’t weak. He was strong. He always was. That’s why his father left him with his gym, not Sesshomaru. His brows furrow while his scowl deepens at the thought of his brother who reentered the fighting scene to spite him.

Myoga sighs, “I get that, but you need to keep your hands up!”

Inuyasha goes back to his shadow boxing with a huff, “Whatever!”

Myoga sits back and watches, semi defeated.The gym floor isa deep red wrapped in white lines. The name “TAISHO” stamped proudly on the floor’s center. It has an old fashioned charm that is no longer found in the sleek black and grey gyms that have popped up in Tokyo in the last decade. Inuyasha kept it that way in some sort of attempt to preserve the dearly departed man’s greatness. Before Inuyasha had been born, his father was killed in a fight by a vengeful opponent he had defeated in a match the month prior. To everyone’s surprise, in his dying breath he passed the torch of his gym to Inuyasha. In its day it was one of the best gyms in all of Japan. Toga himself won several national championships, but he never wanted his son to fight. These days, they’re lucky if they get to half capacity. But none of that has deterred Inuyasha. He’s finally of legal age to fight, and he intends to do whatever it takes to prove anything a demon can do a hanyou can do better. 

After a three minute shadowbox session he moves over to the free weights. Myoga follows along, “Shouldn’t you be taking it easy? You’ve been training so hard for so long. Come on, how about we get you something to eat?”

Inu’s stacking some weights on a long bar. “You’re distracting me Myoga.”

He grabs the par and places it over his shoulders and begins descending into squats. Myoga’s shoulders slump, “But, what about a steak? Nice and rare and juicy!”

The old man salivates at the thought of filling his belly. After a few sets Inu drops the bar and grumbles to himself, “Must be outta your mind ya old bastard.”

He moves over to a bench and grabs a few dumbbells. As he curls his arms one at a time, he takes a moment to look at his physique. He’s well built after years of relentless work. Sitting at twenty years old he’s finally able to share the same ring as the people he grew up watching, even the likes of Sesshomaru. He blinks but his eyes stay focused on his different muscles. Sure he’s gotten stronger and he isn’t letting people get away with their shit, but he can’t help but feel that if he isn’t training at all times he’s never going to be the person he wants to be. That’s meant no close relationships and whatever else twenty year olds do, but it has been for the greater good. Even if it does get lonely a lot. 

Several sets later he drops the weights and pulls off his wet shirt. As he stands in front of the mirror he admires the way he looks and grins. He’s quick to whip out his phone and catch a few pictures of himself flexing. _That’s going on the ‘Gram for sure!_ Inu holds his phone in his hands as he types away. _#GymLife, #Swole #GetAtMe #WeAintTheSame #BuiltDifferent._ That’s one thing he knows he’s got over the other fighters for certain. Inuyasha’s sitting pretty at a hefty 500k followers (with a sweet verification mark) on his Instagram. He always has his fans in the stands when he fights his matches while the other ugly mugs are lucky to pull a few dozen sweaty guys. Anything to stroke his ego really. Myoga watches as the hanyou presses ‘post’ followed by the slow poke of his fang from his grin as the flurry of likes and heart eyes bombard his screen. Myoga sighs, _how did the young master become so self absorbed when raised by such humble parents?_ Inuyasha puts his phone on _do not disturb_ and slips it back into his pocket with a pleased smirk. 

Inuyasha grabs an old jump rope hanging off of the weight rack and begins hopping in place. Myoga, now sitting on a bench close by mumbles, “I know you’re not going to agree with me Master Inuyasha, but perhaps it’s time to consider getting another trainer.”

Inuyasha stops and turns to Myoga, “What’d you say you little flea?”

The old demon’s face goes red as his eyes widen in response to his young master’s tension. “Oh, well, it’s just that… you did so well with a trainer, and I thought that maybe…”

Inuyasha rushes over and grabs Myoga between his index finger and thumb, “That what? I need a trainer? Screw that!”

“But master!” The old flea pleads.

He shouts, “Shut up!” and then flattens him between his fingers.

Across town in a tea house,

“So Kagome, how are your classes going?” Sango lowers her menu to face the girl across from her.

Kagome averts Sango’s eyes, “Class? Oh, it’s going really well!”

Sango sighs and sets down the menu, “I don’t believe you.”

They’re sitting on the outside patio of a tiny little tea shop close to Kagome’s university. The two met in high school during an archery club meeting their freshman year. They’ve been inseparable ever since, despite Sango going straight to work after graduation while Kagome went to university.

“Come on, what’s really going on? You haven’t ordered anything.”

Kagome grumbles in her seat. How could she tell her best friend she’s a broke college girl? Despite getting good grades she’s still struggling to afford life outside of school even with all the scholarships she worked so hard to get. Even without her husband around, Mrs. Higurashi was able to scrape up enough to pay for Kagome to supplement the scholarships at first. However now with Sota being in the kendo team and the house needing urgent repairs, Kagome needed extra income fast. She didn’t want to feel like a burden to her mother. 

Sango looks worriedly at her friend, “Do you need a weekend job?”

Kagome perks up, “What? No! Why would you think that?”

“Come on Kagome,” Sango protests, “You can’t lie to save your life. Why didn’t you tell me you needed some extra money?”

Kagome slumps defeated with watery eyes, “It’s embarrassing.” 

Sango shakes her head, “Don’t worry, I know a place that’s hiring, are you free Friday night?”

Kagome nods while drying her eyes, “Yeah I think so.”

Sango’s eyes light up, “Perfect, wear something cute okay?”

“Uh, okay.”

With a nod, Sango follows up with, “Okay now let’s order. Please get whatever you’d like.”

  
  


There’s a crowd at the address Sango gave Kagome. _What kind of place is this?_ She wonders to herself as she searches for her friend. The crowd is waiting anxiously to get into the venue, there’s a long line behind a velvet rope. The queue follows the street and around the corner. Quite a few women wearing red too, she notes. It’s there that Kagome sees the most peculiar sight. As she rounds the corner she stops in her tracks and squints in confusion. At first she isn’t sure of what she’s seeing until she gets a little closer. However her eyesight isn’t deceiving her. Some guy’s sleeping in the tree that’s on the corner. He doesn’t look homeless, in fact he looks clean in his red gym shorts and matching jacket. His silver hair hangs against the trunk of the tree, flowing in the wind. 

An excited bunch of people walk past Kagome and inadvertently push her into the tree. As she’s falling forward, she reaches for anything that’ll stabilize her descent. She catches herself using the silver hair of the man above her. Unbeknownst to her she put all of her weight into it and his body crashed on top of her in a string of curses blending into a surprised yelp. Kagome cries out, the crowd looks. Some laugh, others look away in embarrassment. Inuyasha gets on his feet rubbing his head. He’s irritated, he’s been trying to get some sleep before his first big fight.

With a growl, “Hey! What’s the big idea?”

Kagome looks up at him from the base of the tree, “Sorry, some people pushed me.”

He gives her a glare, “Then you should watch where you’re going ya stupid girl.”

Kagome makes a face, “You don’t have to be so rude! You’re the one sleeping in a tree!”

Inuyasha looks at her, really looks at her. Something about her is too familiar to him. He’s trying to place it, but he struggles. _Kikyo? No it can’t be Kikyo._ He stands there studying her up and down, smelling the air around her. _She smells like her too._ After an awkward moment of silence he asks bluntly, “What’s your name?”

Kagome shakes her head, surprised at the random question, “My name?”

His brow furrows, “Yeah, your name. What’re you deaf?”

She growls under her breath, “My name is Kagome.”

With an attitude he replies, “Speak up, I didn’t hear you.” 

As she gets on her feet she yells, “My name is Kagome! Ka-Go-Me!”

The anger in her voice catches Inuyasha off guard. She continues to berate him for his rudeness, but Inuyasha tunes her out while thinking _she’s snippy like Kikyo too._ “Are you listening to me?” Kagome stomps her foot a little too close to Inuyasha’s. Suddenly he feels small in her presence as he snaps back to her tirade. Outwardly, he stands staunchly and unfazed. He’s too proud to show her she’s afflicted him. He gives her a snarl before walking away; grumbling under his breath. 

As Kagome watches him leave and yells after him for his sudden departure, Sango calls her over from a side entrance into the venue. Kagome pats down her outfit frustrated, _what was that guy’s problem? What an absolute jerk! Ugh, I hope that’s the last time I ever see him!_

Sango waves for Kagome to follow her into the venue. They’re in a long corridor with a few doors leading into smaller rooms. Trophies in different sizes and levels of ornateness sit proudly on the walls accompanied by many photos of a man that looks eerily similar to the rude guy she just met outside. The man in the photos has markings on his face while the guy from earlier didn’t so she figures it’s some kind of coincidence. Kagome struggles to match her friend’s pace, “Hey Sango, what kind of job is this?”

Sango turns to her and says, “Relax, you’ve got this. Come on, the changing room is just over there.”

 _Changing room? For a uniform, right?_ Kagome thinks to herself. _This must be some upscale restaurant or something._ Into the changing room they go, Sango has Kagome put on her uniform quickly, “Come on we’ve got to hurry it’s almost time to start”

“Right,” Kagome says with hesitation, “Hey Sango, what kind of uniform is this?”

She looks at her reflection in the mirror. Her shorts are too short, and her top is just a bit too tight for her taste. She’s also never worn heels higher than an inch, very much unlike the red bottomed stilettos she’s currently sporting on her feet. Sango let’s down Kagome’s hair and runs her fingers through it to make it look decent. Sango studies Kagome, “You look amazing, what’s wrong with it?”

“Uh…” 

Sango shakes her head, “We don’t have much time for changes, come on!”

She grabs Kagome’s hand and leads her into a different room deeper in the venue. Kagome can hear the crowd around them. They’re rambunctious and in fervor. They stop in a dark room where Sango hands Kagome a sign she can’t see. “Alright Kagome, here’s what you’re going to do. I’m going to position you in this spot here and I need you to hold this up okay?”

“Uh… okay?”

There are a million and one questions going through her head, but Kagome and Sango have been friends since high school. She can trust her, right? 

Sango gives Kagome a nod, “You’re going to do great, Just make sure you stay within the square okay? I won’t be far.”

Before another word can be uttered, Sango departs, closing the door behind her. Now Kagome’s in the dark room, all alone, holding a sign she couldn’t read. _How’d I get stuck with this?_ She grumbles to herself, _hey wait. Sango never even told me how much I’d get paid for this!_ And at that moment the floor below her begins to rise as the ceiling above her opens. Caught completely by surprise by everything going on, Kagome closes her eyes and raises the sign as high as she can. The cheering of the crowd gets louder and louder. The dramatic change in light makes her screw her eyes shut tighter in anticipation. The platform below her stops rising as the crowd goes wild. Kagome opens her eyes gently and finds herself a few meters in the air surrounded by everyone. Just below her is the octagon where Inuyasha is standing ready to begin his first professional fight. Their eyes meet momentarily again. He rolls his eyes and looks at his opponent. Kagome puffs her cheeks, _that jerk!_ _I ought to go down there and give him a piece of my mind!_ She looks around the platform, _how do I even get down from here?_

It’s at that moment Kagome remembers the thing she’s holding up in the air. She looks up at the sign and finally connects the dots. It reads in big bold letters **Round 1!**

“Sango!” She screams, drowned out by the crowd. “How could you make me a UFC Ring Girl!”

The bell rings and the fight begins. Inuyasha glances once more at Kagome before focusing on his opponent, Mister Centipede. Known for his fast punches, Centipede is so quick it looks like he’s got multiple arms when he’s in a fight. The two fighters meet in the center of the octagon, fists up. Centipede is the first to attack. He throws a few quick punches at his opponent. Inuyasha quickly finds himself on the defensive. “I heard some half demon spawn was joining this year’s competition.”

Centipede keeps throwing attacks and Inuyasha’s being pushed against the octagon. He’s struggling to find an opening, Centipede is faster than he was expecting. _Come on! Move you idiot!_ Inuyasha keeps his arms up. _Just like Kikyo said._ The blows keep coming, the attacks are wearing him down. _Why am I thinking about her at a time like this? I don’t need her anymore!_ Flashbacks of training with his original coach Kikyo fill his mind, completely removing him from the fight at hand. _Come on damn it! She cut it off. Forget about her and move on. Don’t let some woman get in the way of being the best fighter in Japan!_ Centipede then stops his barrage and laughs, “What can you do? Pinned like that? This fight is as good as mine!”

Centipede’s attacks again, leaving Inuyasha still stuck against the metal grating. Meanwhile, Kagome is still on her platform watching the fight below on her knees. She watches in horror as the punches continue to fly. She cringes as a particular blow connects with Inuyasha’s body in a way that even Kagome felt. His movements seem lethargic, as if an invisible weight is slowing his movements. _What’s that idiot doing? How can he just sit there and take those attacks?_ The frustration inside of her is boiling. _I know he’s a jerk but, he’s getting his butt handed to him!_ She watches as Centipede lands a hell of a blow to Inuyasha’s side that leaves him doubled over. Centipede takes a step back laughing at the damage done. “That’s right kid, welcome to the big leagues where us demons fight. You want to step into this ring halfing?”

Inuyasha struggles to catch his breath. _Damn it, that one really hurt._ He stumbles over trying to straighten himself out, but he’s not having any kind of luck. _Come on, it was just a few weak punches. He’s not even that strong. The guy’s just fast, that’s all._ When Inuyasha manages to get into stance, he glances up at Kagome watching the fight with anticipation and anxiety. S _he’s still up there, the girl that looks like Kikyo. I’m sure she’s enjoying watching me get my ass kicked by this freak._ Their eyes meet, and Kagome shouts as loudly as she can, “What are you doing you idiot? Fight back!”

It takes Inuyasha a bit to process what she says. _She’s cheering me on? Even after the tree thing?_ Though it’s only a few seconds on the clock, the looks they give each other seems to last an eternity. Kagome gives him a thumbs up, and he gives her a grin. Suddenly, his body feels light again. He cracks his neck and shrugs one shoulder at a time, as if to discard the invisible chains that were holding him back. With a scoff Inuyasha mumbles, “That was a good hit there Centipede.” 

As he turns to face his opponent, the energy around Inuyasha has a noticeable shift. “Now it’s my turn!”

Inuyasha doesn’t waste time. He charges forward and throws a few jabs at Centipede’s body, sending shockwaves through the demon’s body. He mixes in a few kicks to increase the space between them. Centipede stands arms raised confused and astonished. Kagome smacks the platform below her in excitement and anxiety. It’s like seeing a show where the protagonist gets up at the last second and wins the fight.

“Wicked Child!” He shrieks, “You land a few hits and you think this is it? You will not defeat me!”

Centipede dashes forward, but Inuyasha’s ready. “Nasty old man! This is where I beat you!”

The half demon swings a downward punch at his foe, but it’s too early. Centipede is able to and avoid it with ease, however the attack isn’t what he thinks it is. Inuyasha moves his body with his arm and lifts himself with his back leg, doing a somersault in the air and bringing his heel down on Centipede’s head, knocking the demon out instantly. This is Inuyasha’s finisher move, the Iron Reaver Soul Stealer, named after the soul-leaving feeling his opponents feel after being concussed by his heel. Centipede hits the floor, and Inuyasha stands gasping for breath. His fringe clings to his sweat covered forehead and the crowd roars in surprise and excitement. The speakers announce Inuyasha’s win, his debut being nothing short of what most expected. Inuyasha turns back and looks up at Kagome. She’s still watching, with a smile, _he won!_ The excitement fills her countenance, _well now I know he’s strong. I can’t say I’m surprised that he’s a UFC fighter…_

Kagome feels the platform start to lower again and she scrambles to her feet without tripping over the heels Sango let her borrow. She picks up the sign again and tucks it under her arm while watching Inuyasha return to his corner. Music plays over the speaker as the announcer continues to announce the next round of fighters. Red and white roses fall onto the octagon as the platform Kagome is on begins to descend back under it. She catches a glimpse of Inuyasha again. He unwraps a towel and wipes the sweat away from his face and turns to watch the platform descend. His side is turning an ugly shade of green and blue. The last thing she sees of him before descending back into the dark room is him bending down and grabbing a white lacy bra by the strap that had been thrown to his feet. He makes a face of disgust and confusion, as he mouths quick _what the fuck?_ Kagome laughs as the ceiling above her closes again with a heavy metal thud. The door reopens to reveal Sango again. She has a sheepish smile as she makes room for Kagome to exit. 

“Sango…”

She quickly explains ignoring Kagome’s increasingly ticked off expression. “Before you say anything I knew you wouldn’t agree to it if I told you all the details! See? It was easy and entertaining! What’s better than holding up a sign and waiting for some guy to basically almost die?”

Kagome hands Sango back the sign, “That may be so, but you never told me how much this place even pays! I just saw that guy almost get put on a stretcher while suspended on a platform!”

“Pay? Oh, right!” 

They round the corner to an employee locker room, “Lets see… how does 2,000 yen an hour on some weekdays and 2,600 yen on weekends sound? You’ll be working pretty late most nights and the weekends tend to be an all day thing. Our last ring girl quit last week so they’re pretty desperate for a new one since ya know… sex appeal and what not --”

Kagome’s eyes are glistening like stars, “I’ll do it! I just gotta hold up a sign and be pretty right? That’ll be easy. I’m sure I can make it work with my other job.”

Her current job at the WacDonalds only pays her around a thousand yen an hour. She can just move to part time and focus more on this. No more ramen for every meal! Her mouth waters at the thought of being able to afford nicer food more than once every two weeks. She sits on a bench in the room while Sango shoves the sign into a locker. Kagome spots more photos of the same man from earlier. She can’t shake how similar he is to the guy in the ring earlier and Sango takes notice.

“That’s Inu no Taisho. He founded this place. He passed away quite a while ago and left this place to one of his sons. Supposedly those two don’t get along at all.”

Sango’s face lights up talking about the place. It might be a recent job for her, but she’s had a great time and loves working in the gym. Kagome continues to look at the picture of Taisho holding his infant son after what seems to be a fight. Given the octagon background, Taisho in his fighting shorts, and the obnoxiously large gold-plated belt that hung on the shoulder opposite of his child helped Kagome make that connection. She was fascinated by the white fur that lined the owner’s gloves. _That’s unusual, maybe it’s a demon thing? Or maybe things were different back then?_

Sango continues, “See that baby?”

She’s pointing at the child in the photo, “That’s one of his sons actually. The one in the ring from earlier. His debut fight was today he’s about our age. I haven’t talked to him yet since I started working here, but he’s like, kind of an ass.”

Kagome’s eyes widen as the events of earlier play in her mind like a highlight reel. She shoves her face in her hands with a mortified groan. _He’s the owner?! Crap I bad mouthed to my boss and I haven’t even been here for more than three hours!_ She drags her fingers down her face. Sango cocks a brow and sits next to her raven haired friend. 

“Something wrong, Kagome?”

She admits with a deep sigh, “I may or may not have yelled at him earlier before you came to get me outside.” 

Sango barks out in a sudden laughter that echoes off the metal lockers. “That’s so like you. Don’t worry the guy is all bark and no bite with people he isn’t fighting. He’s actually quite nice to his female employees despite his rough attitude. If anything he probably respects you now in his own weird way. Besides… he’s sorta your type don’t you think?”

Kagome’s head snaps up and shoots daggers at her friend, “My type? Maybe if I wanted to be frustrated all day long, sure. Doesn’t matter how hot he is, he's still a rude jerk.”

“So you admit he’s hot!”

“Sango!”


	2. Chapter 2 - Bitter Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone! I hope everyone has been safe and will continue to be so. Apologies for such a late chapter! Running the store and opening the patreon took a lot more time and work than expected. However things should become a lot more regular from here on out! You can get early access to chapters and other content by joining the patreon. Don't for get to follow me for updates and art on Instagram and Twitter @opal_lines ! Happy Reading!

The next day at Taisho’s gym a semi-bruised Inuyasha is hanging upside down from a stand for inverted abdominal exercises. He’s got his phone in his hand and Instagram is open. The notifications are pouring in. A few hundred tagged photos, thousands of comments, and tens of thousands of likes. _See? Now that’s what I’m talking about! Recognition! Half-breed kicking ass and taking names!_ He jumps off the stand, still looking at his phone. He grins to himself, very pleased with the outcome of last night despite the rocky start. The next one will be better for sure. No lucky hits this time. He will settle for nothing less than brutal and perfect. He takes a few steps forward, still focused on his phone. Promoters have been reaching out to the young demon, looking to book more fights with other opponents, and Inuyuasha was loving every minute of it. There is just a joy to making offers in your DM’s wait. _This is only the beginning, I’m going to kick everyone’s ass from here on out!_

As Inuyasha continues rummaging through his IG feed, he wanders aimlessly in his gym, basking in the attention of his fans. Meanwhile, just a few blocks away from Taisho’s Gym, Kagome is making her way back to grab her first check. In all of the excitement after the fight, she completely forgot to grab her check. _I really hope there’s someone there,_ she thinks to herself as she walks down the residential district. The gym sits squarely between a small rundown shopping strip built a decade ago and a pretty well visited park. It looks out of place as if the city had been built around it. The gym had an old charm that Kagome liked quite a lot. 

She stops at the intersection before the gym, she can see the tree Inuyasha was sleeping in just the day before. _I wonder if I’ll run into him again._ She finds herself remembering the conversation she and Sango had after the fight. Her cheeks flare at the thought. Sango wouldn’t let up on the owner piquing Kagome’s interest. Kagome had been out of the dating game since her break up with Hojo in high school and didn’t really plan on it any time soon. _Yeah right. Admit it, you miss having the company of a guy_. She sighs in defeat and clutches her jacket closer to herself covering her WacDonalds uniform. She hopes Inuyasha isn’t at the gym today. It would be totally embarrassing if he saw her in the obnoxious yellow and red polo. Just get the check and then go to work. Easy peasy. 

Once the light flickers in her favor, Kagome crosses to the next block. It’s an early Saturday morning, and the streets are more or less empty. But then again, Taisho’s not in the best part of town. Luckily, that’s not something that’s deterred Kagome from going alone. Besides, as a former Archery Club champ, she never backs down from danger. Kagome stops in front of the gym and takes a deep breath before pushing in the double doors of the entrance. _Seems like this place doesn’t miss a beat to remind you who’s gym this is,_ she muses as she passes another large TAISHO decal on the glass portion of the door. 

The gym is staggeringly different from how she remembered it. What was once filled with people is now empty chairs and benches all facing the octagon in the center. She gulps, _I was suspended that high up?! To think I’ll have to do this again tonight after work…_ Kagome continues down the side of the gym where the hallways begin and brushes past the ‘Employees Only’ rope that sits partially on the ground hung by one side. Past several trophy cases and picture frames she stands at the office door. Kagome gets on the balls of her feet to peak in the window of the door to see if anyone is in there. From what she can tell there isn’t a person (or demon) in at the moment. 

She huffs, now what? The gym is eerily quiet. Maybe no one is here at all? _Well that wouldn't make sense or I wouldn’t be able to walk in_ . Then the metal thud of a weights crashing is heard to Kagome’s right, deeper into the maze of the massive facility. The eyebrows on her face furrow as her shoes click on the linoleum floor towards the noise. The metal clangs and thuds increase in frequency _sounds like someone’s pumping iron_ . _Couldn’t be Sango, could it? She doesn’t train people this early on the weekends_. She rounds the corner to the source of the noise and pokes her head into the open door way. 

The sight that she beholds makes her tongue heavy. Inuyasha’s tank hangs around his neck like a necklace and sways with each pull of the pull down bar. His long silver hair is tied up in a lazy and messy bun, with the exception of several strands that cling to his sweaty neck. His biceps are definitely bigger than her head. He moves to the music playing from his phone on the ground, they sound like remixed versions of popular mainstream music. 

Mid pull Inuyasha’s ears perk up, his nose sniffing the air and then he whips his head in Kagome’s direction. His eyes go wide and immediately narrow in a split second. He abruptly lets go of the bar, and with a shrill hollow ring it snaps back into place. He looks annoyed or maybe just really embarrassed. Kagome shrieks in surprise and scrambles in the direction she came from. _Crap! Crap! Crap!! Why am I even running?! I shouldn’t have looked for so long!_ A large mass soundlessly drops in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. Inuyasha rises to his feet as if he dropped from the ceiling when he was in the work out room a moment ago. Kagome shrieks, startled and amazed by his speed. 

“So you’re just gonna watch the show and not pay?” The half demon furrows his brows at the woman before him, “The hell were you doing stalking me like that?!”

“Stalking!? I wasn’t stalking you!” Kagome retorts. “I went to the office to pick up my check but the _owner_ wasn’t there!” 

Inuyasha takes a step back, his expression faltering for a second. Seems like all they do is bicker when they see each other. He crosses his arms and huffs, “I’m not the one who forgot their check! Everyone knows you pick it up on Fridays. Even newbies like you! Besides, I don’t do offices.”

“I can tell you don’t do a lot of things. Can I get my check so I can leave now? I’m kinda in a hurry.” she ushers to the hallway behind him. 

“Didn’t look like it…” he grumbles and walks towards the office with Kagome hot on his heels. For the short time she follows him back to the office, she can’t help but stare at the defined muscles of his back. She finds herself withholding the urge to touch them. She shifts her view to his head and finds it was no better. Perked up and at attention are Inuyasha’s silver dog ears. Kagome’s eyes go wide, _Agh, such cute little ears. I wanna touch those too!_

They pass another trophy case that contains a championship belt and a mess of photos. Kagome turns back at the half demon and wonders if he hangs out here alone all day long. The place is one huge memorial for Inu No Taisho and numbingly silent when a match isn’t happening. Hell, she hasn’t seen a single employee aside from Sango and Inuyasha. No coaches, not even a janitor. _Isn’t it lonely here, Inuyasha?_

He pulls out a lanyard with at least twenty to thirty different keys on it. He unlocks the door with ease and pushes inside. Kagome steps into the office and stays in the doorway while the silver haired demon rummages through a drawer for her check. 

“Kagome Higurashi,” she reminds him. He is silent for a moment before pulling out a check that sits alone in a pile.. _Saved me the trouble of guessing what her name was._ He looks at the check and then back at her. Kagome is so similar yet so dissimilar to Kikyo. Her eyes are rounder and softer like her face. Her hair is a lot fluffier and wavy too. Kikyo always looked like she knew something he didn’t. The disapproving stares were endless too. Even when she smiled it seemed sad like she was only mimicking happiness. Inuyasha pushes his thoughts to the side and tosses the check into Kagome’s hands. She nearly drops it and glares at him. She’s ready to yell but has to bite her tongue. _He’s my boss, can’t yell at him any more than I already have._

“Listen, I… appreciate you taking up Ayame’s spot. We were worried we wouldn’t find a replacement in time since… ya know… crowd appeal and stuff. It really attracts the old heads who bet a lot and invest.” 

Internally, Kagome cringes at his attempt at kindness. Externally her eye twitches momentarily, but she takes a deep breath and keeps it under control. His comment was awkward and clumsy, but appreciated nonetheless. She clears her throat and places her check in her inner jacket pocket. Inuyasha catches the WacDonalds logo on her chest as she tucks away the check. She looks at him directly, “Well, I’ll take this as you apologizing for how we met. I will forgive you for now. Besides…” Kagome stops in the office doorway and looks down, “I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried about you after what happened at the fight. I hope you keep winning without a beating first because I don’t think I can stomach seeing you get pummeled again.” 

Then she turns and walks out. Inuyasha watches as her hair flutters through the doorway behind her. What kind of backhanded piece of encouragement was that? As he’s closing the drawer, he notices Kagome pokes her head back into the office. Inuyasha plants both his palms on the desk and puts on his smuggest grin,“Missed me already?”

Kagome snorts and fishes into her bag. She produces a bandaid and leaves it on the table by the doorway, “I’m leaving for real this time. See ya tonight!”

His grin disappears almost as quickly as she does. Inuyasha closes the drawer, then lifts the bandaid Kagome has left him. “A paw print bandaid? What am I, a child?!”

He stares at it for a minute, grumbling to himself before begrudgingly unwrapping the bandaid and placing it on a cut on the back of his hand. A soft smile appears on his face. It’s a tender and rare moment that’s quickly interrupted by Myoga. The flea lands on his master’s neck and instantly begins to suck the blood from his neck. Without hesitation, the young demon squishes his loyal vassal. “Damn it Myoga, what could you possibly want?”

The flea flops on the desk. “Oh master! There’s trouble!”

Inuyasha lowers his hand to hide the bandaid, “What do you mean?”

Myoga jumps to his tiny insect feet and shouts, “The entrance! The new ring girl! Your brother!”

“What?”

At the mention of his brother Inuyasha’s heart jumps. His body tenses, what the hell is he doing here? _He better not be back for what I think he is._ It’s been years since Inuyasha has seen his older brother. They grew up in separate parts of town. Inuyasha and his mom lived close to Taisho’s gym, whereas his brother lived across town in one of the more affluent demon neighborhoods. Though never envious of his wealth, Inuyasha always had a thing for the aristocratic vibe his brother gives off. It’s probably the worst thing about him, if you ask Inuyasha. 

Inuyasha makes his way towards the entrance of the gym. His fists are clenched, and although he’s spent the morning working out, he still has enough energy to fight him if worse comes to worse. When he arrives at the main hall Inuyasha notices Kagome’s standing in front of Sesshomaru, asking him to move so she can leave for work. Meanwhile Sesshomaru stands staunchly, looking around his father’s once noble and esteemed gym. The air around him permeates privilege. He knows there’s an insect before him, but he’s more concerned with the state of his father’s prized palace. 

Then from the corner of his eye he notices his younger brother. Though biologically his brother, Sesshomaru has never seen Inuyasha as such. As a formality he uses the title when addressing him, but deep down, Sesshomaru has a plethora of negative emotions towards him. Growing up, Sesshomaru felt abandoned by his father. Why would he choose Inuyasha? A half demon over him? These thoughts plagued him growing up, but as he aged, Sesshomaru’s apathy grew with him. He no longer questioned the why. He didn’t question his father. He made a mistake laying with a human woman, and conceiving a half breed child. Though it’s a stain to his father’s legacy, Sesshomaru has chosen to look past it. 

Inuyasha runs over to them, his gaze sharply on Sesshomaru. He stands close to Kagome and asks, “Are you okay?”

She nods slowly, “I am, I’m just going to be horribly late to work cause of this jerk!”

Once she left the office, she was about to head through the door when he walked in. She asked him politely to move, but he completely ignored her, as if she wasn’t there. She made several attempts to go past him, but he wouldn’t budge. She was ready to give up, had not Inuyasha shown up. Inuyasha’s eyes lock with his elder brother’s. The older demon gives his sibling a polite, yet reserved smile,“Greetings and salutations.”

Inuyasha glares, “It is you… Sesshomaru.”

The smile on his faces vanishes as if he never meant it. “Indeed. I’ve quite missed you as well, little brother.”

 _Little brother?_ Kagome looks at both demons. Sesshomaru is in a white three-piece pinstripe suit. He’s wearing a yellow tie that matches with his eyes. It’s got a blue pattern close to the bottom. A vibrant red pocket square with three plum blossom designs stitched in sit perfectly on his suit. _They certainly dress differently,_ Kagome thinks, _I mean they definitely look related, but Sesshomaru seems like such a polite and well spoken demon. Whereas Inuyasha… well, he’s not terrible. A bit rude, but he seems to mean well._ Kagome sighs, _I’m going to be so late at work._

Inuyasha growls, “What the hell do you want now?”

Sesshomaru responds unfazed by his brother’s hostility, “What do I want? What I’ve always wanted little brother. Our father’s gym.”

Inuyasha rolls his eyes, “Not this shit again!”

He moves towards Sesshomaru, “I thought we had this handled. Your lawyers already told you that there’s nothing you can do. The place is mine, ya got that?”

Sesshomaru scoffs, “Of course, I remember what they said, little brother.”

Something about the way he says “little brother” really irks Inuyasha. They may have had different mothers, but they had the same father. Inuyasha is rightfully his brother, but Sesshomaru’s disdain and elitism pronounces itself jaggedly when he speaks down to him. Inuyasha steps right into Sesshomaru’s personal space. He gets inches away from his face and whispers intently, “So if you know all of this then, why are you here?”

Sesshomaru’s gaze rises to the surrounding area of the gym. He’s repulsed by the smell of it, the place looks rundown and downtrodden. He remembers what this gym was like in its glory days. When it was a demon-only fighting club. His father was a respected creature, known for his fierceness in the octagon. As a young boy he would come to watch his father’s fights. They were bouts of honor and respect. Taisho’s Gym was the standard of strength for demons wanting to make a name for themselves. Now it’s full of degenerates, gamblers and worst of all, humans. 

Sesshomaru turns to his brother, “I’m here to fight you for the gym.”

Inuyasha laughs right to his face, “Are you out of your mind? I’ll kick your ass.”

Though they’ve had small skirmishes in the past, they’ve never had a full on fight, and after yesterday’s victory, Inuyasha is more than ready to take on another opponent. Sesshomaru smiles that same smile from before. It’s small and polite, but completely fake. He moves towards the octagon, brushing his shoulder against his brother as he walks past him. Inuyasha turns and watches as his brother removes his jacket and vest and hangs them off the cage of the octagon. He untucks his shirt and slides down his black suspenders. “I’m waiting, little brother.”

Inuyasha scoffs, “Let’s do this then.”

He takes a step forward ready to fight his brother, but Kagome places herself between him and the ring. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Knowing she’s already late, Kagome has given up on getting to work on time. This is more important. Though she doesn’t understand the relationship between Inuyasha and his brother, she doesn’t want them to fight, especially over their father’s gym. Her reaction throws Inuyasha off his game. This grudge match with his brother has been coming for a long time, and its about time to see who’s the better fighter. He straightens up and cracks his neck. He doesn’t look at her when he says, “Get out of my way Kagome.”

His words surprise her, but she shakes her head, “No! This is stupid! You can’t fight your brother, even if he is a jerk.”

Inuyasha glares at her, “He’s the one looking for a fight, I’ll happily give him one!”

Sesshomaru laughs from inside of the octagon. Watching the two of them bicker reminds him of how low his brother has fallen, “Humorous, tell me little brother, do you love that woman? She seems to want to keep you safe.”

Inuyasha growls, he’s getting under his skin. He may talk tough, but he’s nothing but a rich punk. Inuyasha takes a few steps towards the octagon, but he stops when he feels Kagome holding the hand that still has the bandaid on it. He turns to her, and is moved by what he sees. Her eyes are sorrowful and looking away from him. “Please don’t do it. He’s just being prideful Inuyasha. You can do better than him.”

Inuyasha gives Kagome’s hand a squeeze, “Hey, it’s going to be okay.”

She turns to him, he’s giving her a confident smile. With a nod he says, “Sesshomaru likes to talk a big game, but I’ll knock the gold coins out of him. On Kami.”

The look of confusion on Kagome’s face brings joy to Inuyasha. He gives her hand another squeeze and then jumps over to the octagon. Sesshomaru looks at him unimpressed, “Are you finished?”

Inuyasha flashes his brother a grin as well, “You wish.”

Sesshomaru looks past his brother and at the human defiling the gym. At first he completely ignored her presence, but something about her defiance bothers him now. How dare she, a human, get between two demons about to fight. Such insolence wouldn’t be tolerated. Truth be told, she or any of her kind won’t even be allowed in the gym after Sesshomaru takes ownership. 

Inuyasha takes note of it and jumps in front of his gaze.

“Hey! Your fight’s with me asshole.

“Hanging around a human? You disgust me Inuyasha. You defile our father’s gym and his legacy by even existing.”

“Last I checked our father hung around humans too, so unless you’re insulting the old man I’d shut that puppy mouth of yours. Ya got it?”

Kagome gulps and braces herself as Inuyasha stalks up to the octagon alongside Sesshomaru. 

“Guess I’ll call my manager and tell her I’ll be late…”


	3. Stuck With Each Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait everyone! I found myself caught up in a lot of crap with my freelance work. I was going to draw something for this chapter but my wrists and forearms from non stop drawing lately makes typing painful. I'll try to pace myself better and give myself some time to recover. I'll update the chapter with some art once I have it! The next chapter will be up right before Christmas!
> 
> Otherwise enjoy the chapter!

Kagome watched as the pair circled each other in the octagon with fists held high ready to strike. All she wanted was her check and now she was caught up in a fight long in the making. Silver hair danced around in the octagon before the silence was suddenly broken by Inuyasha taking the first swing at Sesshomaru. To Kagome’s disbelief, the taller demon weaved out of the punch like it wasn’t coming at him with the force strong enough to punch clean through a wall. This made Inuyasha lose his temper. In fact, it pissed him off way more than he could ever express with words. Like the lid lifted on a bag of explosives he began launching rapid fire hooks and punches. One by one they would be dodged, albeit narrowly, by his full demon brother. Inuyasha only swung harder as his face scrunched with rage.

“So are you here to play around or are you here to fight?! Talking all that shit --!”

He gets cut short by Sesshomaru’s first punch connecting with his jaw. Inuyasha swore he saw stars or the gym flip. He stumbles back completely stunned by his brother’s sudden move. The pause only lasts for a second though. Kagome shrieks in horror as Sesshomaru begins to wail on him with no sign of letting up anytime soon.  _ Wasn’t this just to see who would own the gym and not a fight to the death?! What do I do?  _ Sango always said that demons had their own ways of settling things, but this was absurd. Kagome tries to ignore the sounds Inuyasha makes every time Sesshomaru lands another hit on him as she frantically looks around for something to help Inuyasha with. All she can find are chairs and she wasn’t going to even try hitting Sesshomaru over the head with it.  _ C’mon! Think!  _

“Miss Kagome!” a small voice yelled to Kagome’s left.

She looks at her left shoulder and sees a small flea demon frantically jumping up and down for her attention. She has no idea who he is or how he knows her name. 

“Miss Kagome, please! You must get Master Inuyasha the Tetsusaiga or he will not stand a chance against Master Sesshomaru! He is not ready to take on such an opponent!”

“Tetsusaiga? The heck is that?!”

Myoga points to the office hallway she had earlier come out of, “ In the office! Quickly Miss Kagome or Inuyasha may lose the gym and his life!”

She didn’t wait a second longer and took off back to the office. She spares another glance in Inuyasha’s direction and winces to see his face already has a mean bruise forming on the right side of his jaw. He’s putting up a fight but it doesn’t look like he’ll hold up much longer at this rate. She dashes past the octagon and catches Inuyasha’s gaze while shooting him both a hopeful and determined look. He watches her disappear down the hallway confused,  _ where was she going? Is she running away? _

“You dare allow yourself to become distracted in a fight for the gym, little brother?” Sesshomaru bellows out. 

Another punch to the gut. Right hook to the temple. Sesshomaru moves with precision like he had rehearsed it before arriving. He doesn’t have as much brute force as his younger sibling, but that doesn’t matter when he can’t even land a single hit on him. Inside the office, Kagome frantically looks for whatever the Tetsusaiga thing the flea currently seated on her shoulder mentioned. 

“What does this thing even look like?!” Kagome turns to the flea mere seconds away from a full blown panic attack.

Myoga points to a heavy metal square in the corner of the room below a feudal map of Japan hung on the wall. It sat on the ground next to a long leather couch and was being used as a coffee table for a potted plant, “In the safe over there!”

She rushes over to the box and drops to her knees in search of some way to open it. She finds that there's only a door but no way to use a key or even a code of some sort. She pulls on the handle with a heavy grunt with no success. She tries to prop her foot on the edge as leverage to pull some more, but the door doesn’t budge an inch. Still, she keeps pulling and pulling in hopes that maybe she wasn’t trying hard enough. The adrenaline in her veins had her feeling like she might die if she didn’t get the stupid thing open. 

“Oh, cmon!”, she cried out “ Please open! I need to save Inuyasha! Please! Please open!”

In an instant the safe flew open like she said the magic word. Kagome’s hands flew behind her making her collapse to the ground. She quickly props herself up to see that the safe is mostly empty except for a pair of furry gloves. She quickly retrieves them and holds them up to the flea on her shoulders. The gloves were worn and definitely old. On the adjustment straps was the word ‘Tetsusaiga’ engraved in red embroidery. The cuffs were lined in wild white fur like the gloves in the photo that hung in the employee locker room. 

“That's it! You did it, Miss Kagome! Quickly, let us return to Master Inuyasha. These gloves will ensure his victory!” she nodded and took off out the door of the office to where the two brothers were currently beating the living hell out of each other. 

Kagome pushed past the chairs and completely cut through all of them instead of using the side hallway. Inuyasha was on the ground completely out of the fight with Sesshomaru towering above him ready to unleash another round of pain. She quickened her pace and held the gloves tightly in her hands. She was going to get the gloves to Inuyasha no matter what it took. She stops in front of the Octagon edge and shoves the gloves between her thighs to hold them as she fishes out a bobby pin and hair tie out of her jacket. Kagome brings the pin to her mouth and bites off the padded bud on the end to expose the sharp wire. She hooks the pin around the hair tie and makes a makeshift bow with her fingers. She aims for Sesshomaru’s face and before she fires she yells:

“Hey shit head! Look over here!”

Sesshomaru turns in the direction of Kagome’s voice with a peeved look, only for it to be wiped clean off when a bobby pin makeshift arrow whizzes past his face taking a knick of skin off with it. He clutches his cheek in surprise and Kagome seizes the opportunity to jump into the octagon to give Inuyasha the gloves. Her knees drop to his side and her stomach drops to her ass to see that Inuyasha’s condition is horrid. His left eye was swelling and darkening to a muted greenish purple with a matching bruise on his jaw. Kagome wanted to cry and beat up Sesshomaru herself, but this wasn’t the time to get caught up in the moment. Quickly, she grabbed Inuyasha’s semi limp arms and slipped off his gloves to swap them for the ones she found. 

“For a human, you sure have a lot of blind courage.” Sesshomaru comments as Kagome squeaks when his shadow looms over her and Inuyasha’s semi unconscious body. 

Kagome only spares him an angry look before returning back to her injured boss. When she pulls out the Tetsusaiga, Sesshomaru’s eyes widen in shock and disbelief. However it lasts less than a moment, he lunges towards Kagome and the gloves, only to be repelled back by a strong warm light that he only assumed came from the gloves. Kagome watches as Sesshomaru gets sent fumbling back by the gloves. 

_ What the hell?! What kind of gloves are they?! What world am I in right now? _

She shakes her head and takes advantage of the fact that her obstacle is down to finally put the gloves on Inuyasha. His eyes break from its haziness and watches his ring girl secure the straps on his wrists with splitting vision. Inuyasha can’t help the faint smile forming on his face and warmness in his sore gut. He was sure she ran away and rightfully so, this was his fight to handle and had nothing to do with her. Kagome surprised him again and not only came back, but she also somehow got her hands on his old man’s gloves. Speaking of gloves, once they were secure on his hands his body felt oddly light and beating with electrical energy. He groans as he finds the strength to push himself up on his knees to stand again. Kagome watches as Inuyasha steps in front of her creating a barrier between her and his brother. He looks down at her with a lopsided smile in reassurance and turns back to Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha raises his fists back into a fighting stance, “Damn, your day just keeps getting worse huh? First the gym, now the gloves. I can point you to the nearest bridge if ya need it, you bastard.”

Kagome smacks her forehead and groans,  _ He nearly died and he’s already back to talking smack… _

Sesshomaru merely narrows his eyes and before Kagome could even blink they were at it again. She scrambles for the edge of the octagon while keeping her eyes on the fight. It's different this time, Inuyasha is moving like he’s floating and Sesshomaru actually looks afraid. Inuyasha jumps two heads high and raises his leg to then drop his heel into Sesshomaru’s right shoulder. They make eye contact on his descent causing Sesshomaru to sneer at the half demon closing in on him. Sesshomaru collapses like a large tree while reaching to grip his arm and lets out a heavy groan. Inuyasha doesn’t waste time and drops after him to wail on him some more. Sesshomaru’s right arm throbs in intense pain and refuses to move. He grits his teeth and eats the punches that have grown in speed and strength from his younger brother with only his left arm to block. Kagome can’t bear to watch the bloody fight any longer. It was more than she could personally stomach. She gets up and rushes to Inuyasha’s side. He only stops his rain of attacks when he feels Kagome’s hands gripping his bicep willing him to stop. 

“Please,” she begs with watery eyes, “stop hitting him. I think he gets it now…”

Inuyasha halts to look at her and then back at Sesshomaru. He grunts in discontent, but steps off his brother reluctantly. Sesshomaru rolls over and sputters out coughs while holding his most likely broken right arm. His long hair fanned out beneath his head with small splotches of his and Inuyasha’s blood. He lay there for a moment and closed his eyes,  _ Why father? Why the likes of Inuyasha? He is nothing but a stain on your legacy… _ Kagome quietly walks over to Sesshomaru’s sprawled out body and cringes at the damage. They both look so pretty but both brothers are incredibly deadly. She crouches to the fallen brother’s level and offers her hand to him.

Inuyasha raises his brow in surprise, “Really Kagome?! You’re just gonna pretend like he didn’t just try to kill me?!”

“Hush you!” she snaps back and reverts her attention back to Sesshomaru, “Hey, I’ll help you up.”

Sesshomaru scoffs and raises himself up to his feet leaving Kagome below. He walks over to the octagon edge leaving her hanging and slips beneath the ropes to make his exit. It was his way of admitting his defeat. That was better than accepting the help of a human. 

“What the --?! Hey you asshole you think you can just leave like that?!” Inuyasha takes a step in his brother’s direction only to be stopped by Kagome wrapping her arms around his left one. 

She gives him a firm look that tells him that he better not. He relaxes his body and watches as his brother disappears out the gym double doors. No doubt he’ll be back for another fight. Inuyasha hates to admit it, but if it weren’t for Kagome he would've been dead for sure. She tugs his arm gaining his attention. 

“Lets go tend to your wounds --” he opens his mouth to reject her offer only to be cut off, “and it’s not a request. I am ordering you to. I don’t care if you heal quickly, it'll help me feel better about what just happened.”

___________________________________

“Ow! Woman I said --! HEY! I said not there!”

“Quiet you! You can take punches but not some antiseptic?!”

“Are you callin’ me weak?!”

What was supposed to be a somber moment turned into a bickering session. Kagome found that her boss was extremely confusing. He was like a sour patch kid, sour then sweet. Rinse and repeat. She was starting to doubt if the pretty face was really befitting of such an irritating guy . She gently places an ice pack on his jaw and has him hold it there while she pulls out more antiseptic wipes to clean his cuts and dried blood splotches. It’s a comfortable silence for the most part aside from the fact Inuyasha refuses to even look at her. She supposes it's fine considering she got dragged into a really personal family drama. She wouldn't know what to say either if she was Inuyasha. When she moves to remove his gloves she spots the band aid she gave him earlier. She smiles gingerly and moves to remove it so she can replace it. However as soon as her nail grips the edge, Inuyasha clasps that hand to prevent her from doing so. 

He stammers out, “Don’t. It's fine how it is.”

“O-Oh. Okay.” her cheeks darken into a cherry red. 

“Um, Kagome..”

“Mhm.”

“How did you know about Tetsusaiga? How did you get the safe open? I’ve been trying to get it open for years and it never budged.” His words make her stop. 

_ How did I get it open?  _ She thinks for a moment and shrugs. She explains what happened in the office to the half demon. All she could think about was saving him no matter what. Although, it wasn’t until she was overcome with so much adrenaline in the heat of the moment that the safe did open. Granted that could be the answer considering demons still use things like spells and magic even if in small ways. 

“No idea honestly,” she smiles somberly, “ A flea demon told me where to look. I just knew I had to help you. I couldn't just sit still and watch. It's not really my style.”

Inuyasha nods and looks at the gloves in Kagome’s lap wondering what about the gloves liked Kagome enough to let her open the safe and protect her from Sesshomaru. What he did know is that now that she has been involved, they were going to be seeing each other a lot more often. The black haired girl before him places the last bandage on his arm and closes the lid on the first aid kit. She sighs and claps her hands together like the end of a movie scene. 

“Well, I’ll be off then. I’m two hours late to work and I’ll be lucky if they don’t fire me. I’ll see you tonight for the matches and hopefully I won’t have to witness another beating of yours.”

Inuyasha clears his throat and shyly looks at the mirror off to the right, “If you need a ride, I can take ya. Least I can do after pulling you into this mess.”

Kagome’s eyes lit up. She hated walking the whole journey to work since public transport was never on her side. She clasped her hands with his with a soft smile, “You act really mean, but you really are a good guy.”

“ W-Who the hell said I was a good guy?! I’m just paying you back! I ain’t being nice!” He shakes her grasp away like it was burning him even though his face says otherwise. 

Kagome watches as he gets up and walks towards the locker room exit. His hair that was once in a neat ponytail had completely fallen, letting his hair fall right above his butt (and nice one too if she may add). Maybe the job wouldn’t be so bad if she had Inuyasha to look forward to. Sure he was arrogant and stubborn, but he definitely had a softer side that Kagome was determined to access. With family issues like that, she understood a little more why he cooped himself up in the gym all the time. He notices that Kagome isn't behind him and turns around only to see her smiling with a glint in her eye like she knew something he didn’t. His cheeks flared and he spun back around to keep moving.

“Hurry the hell up or you’ll really be fired for sure!”

_________________________________________________

  
  


“You’re kidding! After all that he drove you to work? Talk about a rough morning.” Sango exclaimed while leaning on the locker adjacent to Kagome. 

“Yeah, no kidding.” Kagome sighed. She was exhausted at the thought of it alone. 

After Inuyasha had dropped her off at the fast food place she worked at, her coworkers were literally drooling at his feet. He insisted on coming inside for the breakfast menu and caused a scene by just existing! Now her work place thinks she has a new bad boy boyfriend just months after breaking it off with Hojo. No one knows about her job at the gym and she’d like to keep it that way. Kagome shut her employee locker and fell back onto the bench behind her. She brought her own clothes this time to use as a uniform. She even bothered to wear some proper makeup that wasn’t just mascara and a BB cream. Her trip to the mall before her shift supplied her with some high waisted denim shorts that were torn at the bottom, a form fitting forest green tank, and strappy black stiletto heels. Sango zipped up her pink trainers jacket and shoved her hands into her pockets. She felt a bit responsible for Kagome’s involvement since it was her idea to have her work here in the first place. 

“You know you can quit if it gets to be too much, right? They’re not gonna stop you.”

Kagome stops mid pull of the straps on her ankle, “Quit? Oh Sango, I think I’ll be fine. The pay is good and I really like being your coworker!”

_ I also wouldn’t want some other girl walking in here and being the new ring girl so close to Inuyasha all the time.  _ She catches herself as soon as she thinks it and blankly stares wide eyed at the locker in front of her. Inuyasha wasn’t her boyfriend or anything so why…? The ring of the Octagon signaling that the first round was going to begin in ten minutes warns the two girls to wrap it up. They both say their goodbyes and split down separate ends out the hallway. Kagome tucks her sign under her arm and hurries to the lift room so she could address the crowd again for another night. 

As the night progressed and after many wolf whistles and catcalls later, Inuyasha’s turn to fight the ring came. From her position on the lift, she notices that his wounds have in fact mostly healed except for the mean bruises on his face. They shared a silent moment of eye contact before the bell rang again signaling his round had begun. To Kagome’s surprise, Inuyasha got a near perfect KO. Of course she knew it was with the help of the gloves, but his movements weren’t as sloppy and sporadic like they were last time. She looked off into the crowd and rolled her eyes at the sight of his fangirls again. They were easy to spot since they always wore red to the matches and would throw gifts onto the octagon when his round was over. Did Inuyasha like those girls or were they only here to stroke his ego? She found it odd that a guy like him with so many fawning women was single and basically a hermit. Had he dated in the past? What were they like? 

_ I don’t think I stand a chance considering all the girls showing up for him are mature and pretty-- _

The platform descending jolted her out of her flurry of thoughts and she immediately looked down to see that Inuyasha’s opponent was laid out on the ground. The umpire held Inuyasha’s arm up in victory to the crowd and they were absolutely loving it. The half demon held his chest puffed up in pride and sported a fangy smile. He looked over to the side of the octagon where the platform was lowering into and flashed Kagome a cocky grin. She seems shocked at first but quickly smiles back and shoots him a thumbs up. His smile falters a bit, her demeanor seems a bit off from earlier.

Kagome stepped off the platform and made her way back to the locker room to retire the sign. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she was a bit in over her head. She really liked Inuyasha, _ really really liked him.  _ It was becoming awfully apparent to her though that his fangirls were playing with her head a bit. When leaving the last fight she spotted him greeting them outside the gym. They were all taking photos with him and battling for his attention. He seemed so pleased with the whole situation. After her break up with Hojo, she wasn’t exactly confident in her abilities to keep a guy or even get one. His eyes always wandered when they were out and he always asked how her friends were doing more than he did ask about her. Was she really that plain and uninteresting? School was hard to handle on its own, but boy trouble was just the icing on the cake. 

“Hey Kagome!”

She looked to see Sango waiting for her in front of the locker room. She was already out of her training attire and had changed into nicer clothes. 

“Sango? What's all this?” Kagome gestures to Sango’s outfit with her sign.

She grabs it out of her friend’s hands and tosses it into the locker room and hands her a bundle of clothes, “Get changed. We’re having some fun tonight!”

“Fun? Sango you know my week nights are for studying!” Kagome protests.

“One night one hurt! You’re always cooped up in your house studying all day long. Why not enrich your brain with some serotonin so you can perform better?”

“Are you making me fun of me because I study sports medicine, Sango?” 

Sango laughs while nudging her friend towards the locker room, “Maybe just a little bit. Hurry while the night is still young~.”

A few laughs and tossed pieces of clothing later, the duo walked out the gym side door to take on the night. Sango had booked a table at a restaurant and bar across town where they would meet up with the previous ring girl Ayame for drinks. They stood under the tree waiting for the bus to roll up to the stop when a bunch of commotion towards the gym entrance caught their attention. 

Sango rolled her eyes and sighed, “There they go again, those vultures. They come every match just for what? A picture?”

Kagome’s eyes saddened a bit watching the scene before her. The girls were crowded around him again. He wore a cap on his head this time with holes cut into them to accommodate his ears. The girls were mostly human with a few demons sprinkled into the group. Kagome sighed with a longing stare on her face that catches Sango’s attention. She looks between her forlorn friend and the half demon before marching off in Inuyasha’s direction. Kagome’s completely caught off guard and barely has time to react to stop her friend. 

“Sango? Sango! What the hell--? SANGO.” Kagome can only watch in horror as her best friend approaches the silver haired object of her affections. 

“Hi ladies! Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but mister here has plans. Right, Inuyasha?” Sango sweetly interjects while forcing her way through the small crowd. 

“I do?” Inuyasha points to himself completely confused. 

“Yes you do! You promised to hang out with Kagome and I yesterday,  _ remember? _ ” Sango violently nudges his side causing him to smack her arm away still confused. 

Sango coughs and flicks her head in the direction of Kagome who was currently watching in anticipation from the tree. Inuyasha was taken aback by what he saw, he was so used to seeing Kagome in uniform that regular clothes seemed like an evening gown. She wore a blue plaid pleated skirt over a black sleeveless turtleneck. A lavender colored pendant hung around her neck with slouchy white socks on her feet coupled with black combat ankle boots. She shyly held a leather jacket while staring at the ground when Inuyasha met her gaze. The sound of his fangirls sounded faint in his ears as he drank in the view. Something about the way Kagome was as a person, so kind and courageous, plus the way she looked under the property lights were causing a weird sensation in the pit of his gut that he only felt once before. 

_ Oh fuck… _

“Earth to Inuyasha!” Sango snapped her fingers in front of his face, “Can we go now?”

Inuyasha nods quickly before he chickens out, “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”

They both ignored the whines and protests from his fans as they approached Kagome together. Kagome’s hands felt incredibly sweaty. If he didn’t look handsome before, his cap and form fitting shirt were definitely going to make her run a fever. Sango gives a knowing smile in her friend’s direction before mentioning something about leaving her phone charger in the office and promptly leaving to get it, leaving the two alone under the tree. It was awfully nostalgic considering they met for the first time under the tree just a few days ago. Kagome fidgets with her jacket while Inuyasha just stared at his shoes idly. The vibe was a bit awkward even though they were speaking just fine earlier. Inuyasha decides to break the silence.

“ So, you look… nice.” 

Kagome looks up in shock and blushes, “Oh! Um, thanks. I like your hat. Your ears look cute with the holes.”

Inuyasha’s ego suddenly inflates,“You like my ears?”

Her eyes widened when the realization hit her about what she said. She sputtered out some kind of excuse while finally looking at him. His devilish grin was making her increasingly sound stupider by the second. 

“Oh that’s not what I meant! I mean I’m not saying I  _ don’t _ like your ears, they're very cute.  _ Agh!  _ This is coming out all wrong…” Kagome slumps a bit when she decides to give up on redeeming herself. 

Inuyasha literally barks out a laugh and it takes Kagome by surprise. His laugh was warm and deep, echoing throughout the open landscape of the area. He wipes a single tear out of his eye and comments on how he hadn’t laughed like that in a while. It makes Kagome’s stomach flutter and her heavy boots feel significantly lighter. There was no escaping Inuyasha’s charm and the sooner she accepted it the better. Sango shortly joins them coincidently as soon as the bus pulls up to the stop on the sidewalk. She shoots an evil smile in Kagome’s direction and gestures them onto the bus for a night out. 

_ A night out won’t hurt right? A girl needs some fun once in a while. _

She looks over to Inuyasha next to her as they boarded. 

_ Even if the fun is a cute boy.  _


End file.
